For almost a decade, businesses have been able to set up a free fan page on Facebook and reach their customers and clients for free, but in 2012, Facebook introduced a new feature: companies could pay to put their posts onto more peoples’ news feeds. First on “CBS This Morning,” the tech giant is revealing that 50 million small businesses now have pages on Facebook. Three million of them are paid advertisers, a 50 percent increase in just the past year.

Small businesses are paying to use social media, in hopes of boosting their bottom line and a recent survey by Manta, a small business directory, found that Facebook is by far the top social network used by small businesses and delivers the most value. But 59 percent of small business owners say they don’t see a return on their investment from their overall social media efforts including Facebook, Google+, Linkedin and Twitter. Read more

Radio is certainly not dead as a broadcast public relations tool and Radio Media Tours, or RMTs, are an effective way to get your message out to radio listeners stuck in the morning or evening commute and times in between.. RMTs work similar to Satellite Media Tours with a series of pre-booked interviews targeting top market radio stations and their morning drive time talk format programs.

How RMTs Work. Approximately 12-30 back-to-back radio interviews are typically scheduled during an early morning three-to-four hour window of time determined by the spokesperson’s availability and the number of station interviews that are booked for the tour. A radio media tour have more flexibility than a satellite media tour since the talent doesn’t have to be in a studio to be interviewed in order to reach a radio audience across the country. The spokesperson does need access to a landline telephone since a mobile phone signal (and quality of the transmission) can be unreliable. It is also not uncommon for the talent to do interviews from their home or a hotel if they have a busy schedule so they can be more logistically convenient,

Start with a Great Media Angle or High Profile Spokesperson. Radio producers want a great story and a great guest so you’ll need both to book RMT interviews. Also, in today’s sensitive sponsorship environment, the client sponsoring the segment should make sure that they provide a a balance of information or entertainment with their message for a successful radio media tour so that it doesn’t seem overly commercial. From the radio station’s point of view, if you want a commercial, you should buy an ad spot. Promotional giveaways to the stations can be easily arranged and promotional materials are sent to radio stations before the RMT so they can be posted on the station’s website.

The Spokesperson Can Make or Break RMT Success. A radio media tour can involve a celebrity spokesperson or appropriate industry expert for your topic to promote your product, event, book, and more.. The spokesperson should be either a nationally recognized personality, an authority on the topic or expert in the industry, or a person who has had a personal experience with the product or service you’re promoting, and, finally, who has media “bookability” and experience.

CMP Media Cafe Radio Media Tours (RMTs) Include the development of best pitch angle for your RMT, writing of media alerts, customizing media alert for local markets (where appropriate),radio station booking by our Media Relations Department, recording of RMT interviews, telephone follow-up with stations to confirm airings, usage/monitoring reports. Contact us at 213-986-8070 for more information on how to make your RMT a success.